MILWAUKEE - Behind a team-high 12 kills from freshman outside hitter Erin Lehman, the Marquette University women's volleyball team began the 2012 season with a sweep of Bowling Green (25-20, 25-21, 25-19) Friday at the Al McGuire Center in the opening match of the Marquette Challenge.

Marquette (1-0) also received 10 kills apiece from sophomore Lindsey Gosh and senior Danielle Carlson to help MU out-hit the Falcons, .327 to .189.

The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 10-6 lead to begin the first set, and extended the lead by collecting five of the next six points, forcing Bowling Green to take the game's first timeout, trailing 14-7.

After holding off a BGSU run that closed the MU lead to 23-20, Lehman picked up back-to-back kills to give Marquette the first set.

With the second set tied at 12, Marquette went on a 7-2 run and held the lead for the remainder of the stanza. MU had solid backline play in the set, with junior Julie Jeziorowski collecting 13 of her game-high 20 digs.

Both teams traded points to begin the the third set, until Marquette managed to take a 21-19 lead off a kill from Gosh. Bowling Green had three attack errors on the last four points, allowing the Golden Eagles to take the set and the match.

Marquette will face Northwestern on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the finale of the Marquette Challenge. The game's action will be streamed live on GoMarquette.com's multimedia platform, MUTube (GoMarquette.com/allaccess/).

All tickets purchased for Friday's season opener against Bowling Green can be used for admission to Sunday's match vs. Northwestern.

#ShymansKeys to the match:1. Grinding defensive play2. Lightning-quick arm of Holly Mertens on the right side3. Veteran-like play of freshman Erin Lehman

FOLLOW MARQUETTE VOLLEYBALL ON TWITTER AND FACEBOOK: Be sure to follow Marquette volleyball on Twitter (@MarquetteVB) and "like" us on Facebook (/MarquetteVolleyball) for updates throughout the year. In addition to live stats and video links found on GoMarquette.com, @MarquetteVB on Twitter will provide live in-match updates during all matches.